What is the Nigeria Invitational Women’s T20I in cricket?

The Nigeria Invitational Women’s T20I is an annual T20 tournament played in Nigeria. It features national teams from the African continent. Even though the participation of teams has not been consistent, the tournament has largely enhanced the involvement of women in cricket in Africa. The tournament is organized by the Nigeria Cricket Federation. It also acts as a build-up for bigger cricketing contests like Africa Games and T20 World Cups.

The first tournament began in 2019 as a bilateral series between Rwanda and Nigeria. The next two seasons were held in 2022 and 2023, which was played between five teams. The 2024 edition features four teams in the tournament. The teams that have thus far participated in the tournament are Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Gambia. All matches are held in Tafewa Balewadi Square Cricket in Lagos.

The tournament features a round robin stage and a knockout stage. In the round-robin stage, each team plays the other at least once or twice depending on the total number of participating teams. The top two teams qualify for the finals whereas the next two teams contest a playoff for the third position. Teams earn two points for a win, one for a tie or no result, and zero for a loss.

Rwanda and Nigeria have won one title each ever since multiple teams started participating. Gisele Ishimwe has been the most successful batter, having scored the maximum runs in two editions of the tournament. Fellow Rwanda player Henriette Ishimwe has been the most notable bowler of the tournament.

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